The Serenity Now

"**The Serenity Now**"
"The Serenity Now"
Seinfeld episode
Episode no.	Season 9; Episode 3
Directed by	Andy Ackerman
Written by	Steve Koren
Production code	903
Original air date	October 9, 1997
Guest appearances
	Jerry Stiller as Frank Costanza ; Estelle Harris as Estelle Costanza ; Lori Loughlin as Patty; Matt McCoy as Lloyd Braun; Richard Fancy as Lippman; Ross Malinger as Adam Lippman; Bruce Mahler as Rabbi Glickman; Ruth Cohen as Ruthie Cohen (uncredited);
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Voice"	Next →; "The Blood"
	Seinfeld season 9
	List of episodes

Last updated May 26, 2024

"The Serenity Now" is the 159th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld . This was the third episode of the ninth and final season.^[1] It aired in the United States on October 9, 1997.^[2] In this episode, George competes with his childhood rival Lloyd Braun at selling computers for his father Frank, and Elaine finds herself being hit on by every Jewish male she knows, including Jerry, who is experiencing emotions for the first time.

Plot

An instructional tape advises Frank Costanza to say "serenity now" every time he gets angry in order to keep his blood pressure down. Frank hires his son George and George's childhood rival, Lloyd Braun, as computer telemarketers. George is so determined to sell more than Lloyd, he purchases numerous computers and stores them in Kramer's apartment, planning to get refunds after. Lloyd is fired when George appears to outsell him. Before he leaves, Lloyd warns George the "serenity now" mantra is actually harmful, as it bottles up emotions.

Jerry's girlfriend Patty observes that he never gets angry, and concludes he is repressing his emotions. At her continued goading, Jerry expresses real anger for the first time. Uplifted by the release of emotion, Jerry begins expressing anger all the time, driving Patty to break up with him. He begins experiencing other newfound emotions; he cries over Patty leaving him, tells George and Kramer he loves them, and asks Elaine to marry him.

Elaine goes to the bar mitzvah of her ex-boss Mr. Lippman's son Adam. Adam celebrates by giving her a French kiss. Word gets around, and she is invited to six more bar mitzvahs. When she tells Adam the kiss was inappropriate, he bitterly renounces Judaism, and Mr. Lippman French kisses her. George tells Elaine that it's because Jewish men are attracted to non-Jewish women, a concept called shiksappeal. She is skeptical at first, but after Jerry's proposal Elaine consults Rabbi Glickman for advice on how to eliminate her shiksappeal. He comes on to her as well.

Kramer is inspired to turn the hallway area outside his apartment door to resemble a front porch in "Anytown, USA", with lawn chairs, potted plants, American flag, wind chimes, and screen door. This draws vandalism from kids. He uses Frank's "serenity now" mantra but eventually his pent-up anger releases and he takes it out by smashing all of George's computers. When George suggests that Lloyd's sales should offset this financial disaster, Frank reveals that he never even plugged in the phone Lloyd made sales calls on; he apparently just played along with Lloyd's delusional "sales" so George would have someone to compete against.

To ease George's resulting despondency, Jerry urges him to confess all his emotions, which disturb Jerry so much he becomes emotionally repressed again. Elaine accepts Jerry's proposal, but he is no longer interested. Frank and Estelle fight over his use of the garage as an office. At George's suggestion, Frank uses a new relaxation phrase "Hoochie Mama" when an angry Estelle tries to park in the garage.

Production

While driving with his arguing parents, writer Steve Koren was bewildered to hear his father shout "Serenity now!" at the top of his lungs as part of a rage controlling exercise he had heard about from an audio tape, and questioned whether the phrase was meant to be yelled. He ended up basing many of the episode's George scenes on conversations with his parents.^[3]

Most scenes in the episode were filmed before a studio audience on September 10, 1997.^[4]

As typical for a Seinfeld episode, a number of scenes were cut to get the episode to fit into its time slot, including a scene in the Costanza garage which parodied the "always be closing" scene from Glengarry Glen Ross .^[3] Some of the other cuts were Frank giving George a can of motor oil and a funnel in lieu of the Water Pik which he failed to wrestle away from Estelle, Jerry calling Patty after their breakup and apologizing for serenading her with "I Want to Know What Love Is", and Jerry suggesting to Elaine that she go with David Puddy to the bar mitzvah, reasoning that by that time they will have gotten back together after their latest breakup.^[4] Additionally, in the first draft Elaine is more frank with Jerry when accepting his marriage proposal, saying that she needs to take herself off the market to escape the nightmare of her "shiksappeal" and regards Jerry as slightly better than dying alone.^[4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Benes</span> Major character on the TV show Seinfeld

Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer. Louis-Dreyfus received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five SAG Awards. She reprised the role during season 41 of Saturday Night Live in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Costanza</span> Major character on the TV show Seinfeld

George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic relationships through his own fear of being dumped. He is also relatively lazy; during periods of unemployment he actively avoids getting a job, and while employed he often finds ingenious ways to conceal idleness from his bosses. He is friends with Jerry Seinfeld, Cosmo Kramer, and Elaine Benes. George and Jerry were junior high school friends and remained friends afterward. George appears in every episode except "The Pen".

"The Contest" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of the American television sitcom Seinfeld, and the 51st episode overall. Written by Larry David and directed by Tom Cherones, the episode originally aired on NBC on November 18, 1992. In the episode, Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hold a contest to determine who can go for the longest time without masturbating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Seinfeld (character)</span> Main character on the TV show Seinfeld

Jerome "Jerry" Seinfeld is the title character and the main protagonist of the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998). The straight man among his group of friends, this semi-fictionalized version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was named after, co-created by, and played by Seinfeld himself. The series revolves around Jerry's misadventures with his best friend George Costanza, neighbor Cosmo Kramer, and ex-girlfriend Elaine Benes. He is usually the voice of reason amid his friends' antics and the focal point of the relationship.

"The Raincoats" is a two-part episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 82nd and 83rd episode of the show, and the 18th and 19th episodes of the fifth season. The episode was first shown on NBC on April 28, 1994, and garnered an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Judge Reinhold.

"The Puffy Shirt" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 66th episode and originally aired on September 23, 1993. The episode centers on Jerry having to wear an ostentatious "puffy" shirt on The Today Show after he unwittingly agreed to promote it for Kramer's girlfriend because she spoke too quietly for him to understand what she was asking.

"The Fusilli Jerry" is the 107th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. Featuring the introduction of David Puddy, the episode also features Kramer receiving vanity plates that say "ASSMAN" as well as marital problems between George's parents. This is the 21st episode of the sixth season. It aired on April 27, 1995.

"The Money" is the 146th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 12th episode for the eighth season, originally airing on NBC on January 16, 1997. In a follow-up to the episode "The Cadillac", the story has Jerry traveling to Florida to buy his parents' Cadillac back from Jack Klompus. Meanwhile, Jerry's father Morty Seinfeld gets a job at The J. Peterman Company and Kramer and his girlfriend have problems sleeping together.

"The Junk Mail" is the 161st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the fifth episode of the ninth and final season. The episode aired on October 30, 1997. In this episode, Jerry is gifted a van by a childhood friend and cannot turn it down for fear of hurting his feelings, Elaine mistakenly thinks she has fallen in love when the sight of a man triggers memories of an old commercial he appeared in, and Kramer, tired of getting swamped with junk mail, tries to stop all delivery of his mail, only to uncover a conspiracy by the United States Postal Service to keep the public from realizing that mail is pointless. Produced when e-mail was becoming a mainstream form of communication, the episode reflected the popular prediction of the time that postal service would soon become obsolete.

"The Cigar Store Indian" is the 74th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It is the tenth episode of the fifth season, and first aired on December 9, 1993. In this episode, Jerry has troubles with appearing racially insensitive in front of a Native American woman he is attracted to, while Elaine is bothered by a lovestruck TV enthusiast whom she met on the subway.

"The Marine Biologist" is the 78th episode of the American sitcom Seinfeld. It is the 14th episode of the fifth season. It was originally broadcast on NBC on February 10, 1994. In the episode, George pretends to be a marine biologist in order to impress an old crush, which puts him on the spot when they encounter a beached whale. Meanwhile, Elaine attempts to recover her electronic organizer after a renowned Russian author throws it out the window of a moving limousine. Jerry Seinfeld considers the episode one of his favorites.

"The Chinese Woman" is the 90th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the fourth episode for the sixth season. It aired on October 13, 1994. In this episode Jerry dates a woman who he believes is Chinese due to her name, Donna Chang, Frank Costanza retains a caped lawyer for divorce proceedings, Kramer switches to boxer shorts in hopes of impregnating a woman, and Elaine finds herself continuing to cause boyfriend trouble for her friend Noreen.

"The Scofflaw" is the 99th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 13th episode for the sixth season. It aired on January 26, 1995. In this episode, George and Jerry both pretend to not know their friend Gary Fogel never had cancer, Elaine takes revenge on her ex-boyfriend by acquiring a pair of glasses identical to his, and Kramer teams up with a police officer to catch a repeat parking violator.

"The Highlights of 100" is the 14th and 15th episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Seinfeld, and the 100th and 101st episode overall. Written by Peter Mehlman and directed by Andy Ackerman, the episode originally aired on NBC on February 2, 1995. The episode is a clip show to celebrate the series' 100th episode with no new content apart from a 50 second long intro by Jerry Seinfeld. In syndication, it airs as two separate episodes of 30 minutes each, with a second intro at the beginning of the second episode. This is the first episode in the series not to open with a stand-up routine.

"The Doorman" is the 104th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 18th episode for the sixth season. It aired on February 23, 1995. In this episode, Jerry and Elaine contend with a creepy doorman, George fears he is developing male breasts, and Kramer and Frank Costanza try to go into business with a bra for men.

"The Rye" is the 121st episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It was the 11th episode of the seventh season, originally airing on January 4, 1996. It was the final episode of the series to be written by American comedian Carol Leifer. In this episode, Elaine's relationship with her saxophonist boyfriend is complicated by the issue of oral sex, George tries to avert a feud between his parents and his fiancée Susan's parents over a loaf of marble rye bread, and Kramer takes on a temporary job as a hansom cab driver.

"The Caddy" is the 122nd episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 12th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on January 25, 1996. In this episode, George takes an unapproved vacation, leading to him being presumed dead, while Kramer, Jerry, and Jackie Chiles launch a lawsuit against Elaine's archenemy Sue Ellen Mischke because she was wearing a bra without a top in public.

"The Doll" is the 127th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 17th episode for the seventh season, originally airing on February 22, 1996.

"The Understudy" is the 110th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This is the 24th and final episode for the sixth season. It aired on May 18, 1995. This is the second episode in the series not to open with a stand-up routine.

References

↑ "Seinfeld Season 9 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 14, 2021.
↑ "The Serenity Now" - TV.com
1 2 Koren, Steve (2007). Seinfeld Season 9: Audio Commentary - "The Serenity Now" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
1 2 3 Seinfeld Season 9: Notes About Nothing - "The Serenity Now" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.

External links

"The Serenity Now" at IMDb

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[tvguide-1] "Seinfeld Season 9 Episodes". TV Guide . Retrieved December 14, 2021.

[2] "The Serenity Now" - TV.com

[AudioCom-3] 1 2 Koren, Steve (2007). Seinfeld Season 9: Audio Commentary - "The Serenity Now" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

[NaN-4] 1 2 3 Seinfeld Season 9: Notes About Nothing - "The Serenity Now" (DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Seinfeld episodes
Season 1	"The Seinfeld Chronicles" "The Stake Out" "The Robbery" "Male Unbonding" "The Stock Tip"
Season 2	"The Ex-Girlfriend" "The Pony Remark" "The Jacket" "The Phone Message" "The Apartment" "The Statue" "The Revenge" "The Heart Attack" "The Deal" "The Baby Shower" "The Chinese Restaurant" "The Busboy"
Season 3	"The Note" "The Truth" "The Pen" "The Dog" "The Library" "The Parking Garage" "The Cafe" "The Tape" "The Nose Job" "The Stranded" "The Alternate Side" "The Red Dot" "The Subway" "The Pez Dispenser" "The Suicide" "The Fix-Up" "The Boyfriend"† "The Limo" "The Good Samaritan" "The Letter" "The Parking Space" "The Keys"
Season 4	"The Trip"† "The Pitch" "The Ticket" "The Wallet" "The Watch" "The Bubble Boy" "The Cheever Letters" "The Opera" "The Virgin" "The Contest" "The Airport" "The Pick" "The Movie" "The Visa" "The Shoes" "The Outing" "The Old Man" "The Implant" "The Junior Mint" "The Smelly Car" "The Handicap Spot" "The Pilot"†
Season 5	"The Mango" "The Puffy Shirt" "The Glasses" "The Sniffing Accountant" "The Bris" "The Lip Reader" "The Non-Fat Yogurt" "The Barber" "The Masseuse" "The Cigar Store Indian" "The Conversion" "The Stall" "The Dinner Party" "The Marine Biologist" "The Pie" "The Stand In" "The Wife" "The Raincoats"† "The Fire" "The Hamptons" "The Opposite"
Season 6	"The Chaperone" "The Big Salad" "The Pledge Drive" "The Chinese Woman" "The Couch" "The Gymnast" "The Soup" "The Mom & Pop Store" "The Secretary" "The Race" "The Switch" "The Label Maker" "The Scofflaw" "The Highlights of 100"† "The Beard" "The Kiss Hello" "The Doorman" "The Jimmy" "The Doodle" "The Fusilli Jerry" "The Diplomat's Club" "The Face Painter" "The Understudy"
Season 7	"The Engagement" "The Postponement" "The Maestro" "The Wink" "The Hot Tub" "The Soup Nazi" "The Secret Code" "The Pool Guy" "The Sponge" "The Gum" "The Rye" "The Caddy" "The Seven" "The Cadillac"† "The Shower Head" "The Doll" "The Friar's Club" "The Wig Master" "The Calzone" "The Bottle Deposit"† "The Wait Out" "The Invitations"
Season 8	"The Foundation" "The Soul Mate" "The Bizarro Jerry" "The Little Kicks" "The Package" "The Fatigues" "The Checks" "The Chicken Roaster" "The Abstinence" "The Andrea Doria" "The Little Jerry" "The Money" "The Comeback" "The Van Buren Boys" "The Susie" "The Pothole" "The English Patient" "The Nap" "The Yada Yada" "The Millennium" "The Muffin Tops" "The Summer of George"
Season 9	"The Butter Shave" "The Voice" "The Serenity Now" "The Blood" "The Junk Mail" "The Merv Griffin Show" "The Slicer" "The Betrayal" "The Apology" "The Strike" "The Dealership" "The Reverse Peephole" "The Cartoon" "The Strongbox" "The Wizard" "The Burning" "The Bookstore" "The Frogger" "The Maid" "The Puerto Rican Day" "The Chronicle"† "The Finale"†
† Indicates two-part episode